Speedometer



April 14, 1925.y 153,2674- C. W. SVENSON SPEEDOMETER Filed Nqv. 24,1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 20 INVENToR Z CHA/nfs /4/ Juf/v50 n ATTORNEY:

April 14, 1925. y 15.3.1674l v c. w. svENsoN SBEEDOMETER .Filed Nov. 24, 1923 2 sheets-shut 2 v ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 14, i925.

unirse STATES? CHARLES W. SVENSON, OF BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

SPEEDOMETER.

Application filed November 24, 1923. Serial No. 676,738.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES `W. SvnNsoN,

a citizen of the United States, residing atV Newr Britain, county of Harttord, State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Speedometers,

oit which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to indicating devices and has special reference to such devices and tor indicating and recording the speed oi a machine partor other moving body.

Y .An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved device ot this character which is particularly useful on police motor cycles. q

Another object 'of the -invention isto' provide a device of this character in which means under the control of the operator is provided tor holding a speed indicating member ot the device in any position to which it may be moved, independently of the continued operation of the actuating means for said member at an increased speed.

Another object of the invention is to pro'- vide a device of this character in which a speed indicating member thereof is movable in opposite directions in accordance with variations in the speed of operation oithe actuating `means therefor, and means under the control of the operator is VprovidedI for holding said member in any position moved during any continued operation of said actuating meansV so as tol record the indication ot the speed at any given instant. 4

The following is a description of my invention reference heilig hadA to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a face view, partly in section and partly broken away, of a speedometer embodying the features oi the invention in their preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of `the indicating hand and the mounting therefor illustrated in Fig, l; v

Fig. 3 is a' sectional view, partly in plan, taken on the line 3--3 of Figs. 2 and 4;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4`4 o'l2 Fig. 1 and showing conventionally an actuating means employed for the hand-stati Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line of Figs. 2 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the im@ G46 .of 2 and .e

Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of a speed-- ometer o1" the magnetic type embodying another form of my invention; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 554-8 of Fig. 7. y

The speedometer illustratedfin Fig. l of the drawings, which is of the well known positive drive centrifugal type', is provided with a casing 2, a dial cover 4, a dial 6, a speed indicating Vhand 8, anda vhand staff l0.

In the illustrated construction the indicating hand is so connected with the hand stati' that the hand .is caused to move with the staff under normal conditions,but at the will of the operator may be stopped in any position moved independently of thefcontinued movement of the hand stall in either direction. As shown, this connection between the indicating hand and stati'` comprises a sleeve 12 which is slipped over the end of the staff and caused to turn therewith. by means of a tongue and slot connection with a sleeve 14 secured on the staff by a driving tit, the inner end ot the sleeve 'l2 being provided with arslot 16 that receives a tongue 18 on the upper end of the sleeve 14 so that the sleeve 12 and all parts carried thereby can be Vseparately assembled and applied tothe shaft or removed therefrom as a unit. The lower end of the sleeve 12 is provided with a flange 2O having a sectoral projection 22 that provides a shoulder 24. The sleeve 12 is further provided with an annular shoulder 2G spaced a slight distance from the iiange 2O and against whiclris` held a coupling disk 28 that is mounted for rotary movement on the sleeve 12. vided with a sectoral projection 30 forn'iing a shoulder 32, and this projection is pro-` vided withan inwardly extending projection 34 orn'iing` a shoulder'. A spiral spring 3S is arranged between the coul'iling disk and the flange 20, and has one end se,n cured in a slot 4() in the sleeve 1.2 and its other end secured ina slot42 in the projection 34, the spi-ingb'eing so coiled as to tend to maintain the shoulders 24 and oli the sleeve 12 and the coupling disk 28 in engagement but permit them. to separate it the member 20 is moved clockwise while the member 28 is held stationary. `The coupling' disk 28 is further provided with a spacing hub 44 against the end of which is held a hub or sleeve 46 which is mounted for rotary movement on the upper portion of the The coupling disi -28 is' pro# sleeve 12. The hub or sleeve 46 is provided with an inwardly projecting flange 48 which has an inwardly extending sectoral projection 50 Jforming a shoulder 52. A spiral spring 54 is located between the hub or sleeve 46 and the couplingvdisk 28 and lhas one end secured in a slot 56 in the hub ot' the coupling disk and its other end secured in a slot 58 in the flange 48 of the sleeve, the spring' being so coiled as to tend to -rela- .tively turn the sleeve Aand disk to maintain the shoulders 52 and 82 in engagement but permit them to separate if' the member 28 is moved counter-clockwise while the member 46 is held stationary. rI'he hub or sleeve 46 carries an indicating hand 8, the hand being provided with an enlarged annular inner end 66 which is slipped over the reduced outer end of the sleeve 46 and is clamped in position against a shoulder 62 on the sleeve by means of a nut V64. The hand carrying sleeve 46 and the coupling disk 28 are held yfrom axial movement on the sleeve 12 by means ot a wire washer 66 which is received in a groove in the end of the sleeve 12 and abuts the end ot the hand carrying sleeve 46. The sleeve 12 is held on the statt 10 by means of a wire washer 68 which is received in a groove in the end of the staff and abuts the end of said sleeve.

From the foregoing it will -be apparent that as the shoulders 24 and V36 are held in engagement by their associated spring V38, andthe shoulders 52 and 32 are held in engagement by their associated spring 54, the speedY indicating hand, when tree to move, will be caused to turn withuthe hand staff so as to indicate the various speeds of travel of the moving body to which the speedometer is applied. In the illustrated construction, however, means under the control 4otl the operator is provided for rendering the connections with the hand carrying stati ineffective to turn the hand and for holding the hand in any position moved. To provide for this the hand carrying hub' or sleeve 46 is pro- .'vided -with a surface por-tion 70 having teeth knurled or milled therein which are adapted to be engaged bythe end of. an arm on` a bell crank lever 72, the end ofthe arm being shaped to tit the teeth. The bell crank lever is pivotally mounted on a screw T4 on the speedometer casing, and is urged in a direc tien to hold the end ot its arm in engagement with the knurled teeth on the sleeve 46 by means oi a coiled spring 7 6 having one end connected with the lever and its other end secured to the speedometer casing. The end of the other arm of the bell crank lever 7 2 is received in an annular groove 78 in the inner end of a plunger 8O which extends through an aperture in a sleeve 82 on the cylindrical wall of the speedometer casing, The outer end surface of the sleeve'82 is provided with beveled Asurface porti-ons 84 that are adapted to be engaged by a pin 86 on the outer end of the plunger 80. The outer end oi' the plunger 8O is further provided with a laterally `projecting handle 88 Yfor manually rotating the saine.

lilith the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 1, the spring 76 holds the end of the inner arm of the bell crank lever 72 in holding engagement with the teeth on the hand carrying sleeve 46. Then it is desired to retract the lever 72 from the knurled surface of the sleeve 46, a quarter turn is given to the plunger 8O which causes the pin 86 -to ride up on one ot the bevel surfaces 84 and lthereby retract the plunger and turn the lever 72 in a direction to more its end out oi engagement with said knurled surtace 70 of the sleeve. lt will be apparent that during the normal operation oi the speedometer the holding lever 72 is held out of engagement with the hand carrying sleeve 46 so as to enable the indicating hand to turn with the stall7 10 to indicate the various speeds, as above described.

Then it is desired to indicate or register at any particular time the speed ot the moving body to which the speedometer is applied, the driver or operator turns the. plunger to a. position shown to enable the spring 76 to move the holding lever 72 into holding engagement with the teeth on the hand carrying sleeve 46, whereupon the indicating hand is stopped in the position it is at lthat time and yis held from movement in either direction, the yielding connection between 4the hand carrying sleeve 46 and the staff 10 enabling the stall"z lto be turned in either direction through it-s connection with the moving body independently of the indicating hand. In Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, theindicating hand and the parts associated therewith` are shown in the position they assume when the hand is held in a position indicating between thirty and thirty-tive miles, and the hand carrying sta li' 1() has been returnedk to its Zero position. It may be noted that when the hand is thus held and the staff 10 moves toward its zero position, the statt positively acts through the shoulders 24 and 36 to carry the coupling disk 28 therewith and to tension the spring 54 associated with the coupling disk and hand carrying sleeve 12, said spring permitting this movement ot the disk independently of the hand carrying sleeve. In case the speed et the moving body is increased after the indicating hand ris held by the holding lever 72, the shoulders 32 and 52 on the coupling disk 2S and hand carrying sleeve 46 will remain in engagement while the spring 38 associated vwith the coupling disk and sleeve 12 will be tensioned bythe rot-ation of the stati 16, the spring 88 permitting movement ot the staff 10 and sleeve V12, independently'ot' the coupling disk 28 and hand carrying sleeve 46. In case the holding lever 72 is disengaged from the hand carrying sleeve 4:0 after the staff 10 has been returned to its zero position, the spring 54 associated with said sleeve will immediately act to return the indicating hand to its zero posi,- tion, the position of the hand being positively determined with relation to the staff by the engagement of the stop shoulders 211 and 3G, and 82 and'52. In case the holding lever 7 2 is disengaged from the hand carrying sleeve 4G when the moving body is traveling at a greater or less speed than the speed `indicated by the hand before the latter is released, the spring 38 associated with the sleeve 12 and the coupling member 2S will imn'lediately act to return the parts of the yielding connection to their normal position with relation to the staff 10 and thus permit the hand to move with the staff and indicate the actua-l speed at that moment. y y

From the foregoing it will be apparent that under normal conditions the indicating hand 8 will move in unison with the stan1 10 to indicatey the various speed-s of the moving body; that by merely turning the plunger 80 the operator may stop the hand in the position moved at any time and the hand will be held in that position until the plunger S is again turned-to release the hand irrespective of whether the speed of the moving body is increased or decreased after the stopping of t-he hand; and that immediately upon releasing the hand it will return to its initial position with relation to the hand staff 10 so as to function in thel usual manner as a speed indicating hand.

lt may be noted that the speedometer, above described, is particularly adapted for use on police motor cycles. for the reason that the policeman upon driving up alongside of an automobile or other vehicle by merely setting the holding lever s'o las to permit it to engage the knurled surface is enabled to register the speed of the-vehicle a t that time, the indicating hand remaining in the position moved until the holding` lever is withdrawn even though he increases the speed of his motor cycle to get in front of and to stop the car( in actual use an additional hand, rigidly mounted on the shaft 10 for indicating the' actual speed of the moving body when the. hand S is locked in positioirpreferably is not made. a part of the present embodiment. Such a hand would indicate the actual speed at all times but is preferably omitted on account of the confusion that might result from the presence of `two hands.

My invention may also be embodied in speedometers in which the indicating members are not driven by a Positive mechanical connection among which are the well known magnetic induction speedometers.

The speedometer illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings is of a magnetically operated induction type having a casing 90, a cylindrical shaped dial or indicating` member 927 a rotating member 94 that carries a magnet 95 acting inductively for operating the dial, and a spiral spring 96 tending to turn the dial toward its initial or zero position, the Zero position of the dial being determined by the engagement of a stop 98 thereon with a fixed stop 100 on a support member 102. ln this type of speedometer the indicatingl member can be stopped in any position without interfering with the continued rotation of the magnet, since there is no .mechanical connection between the indicating member and the magnet.A

In this construction the dial holding means comprises two levers 104.- thatlcross each other and are pivotally mounted on a cap Vscrew 10G secured in a bracket member 108. The inner ends ofthe levers 104C are provided with iaws 110 which are adapted to move toward each other to clamp the dial between them bymeans of Va coiled spring 112. The outer ends of the levers 10d extend over a flattened cam portion 114 of a stud 11G having its inner end mounted for turn'- ing movementin an aperture in the bracket member 1.08 and having its outer end provided with a handle or knob 118. TWith the jaws in clamping engagement with the dial, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the dial is heldy from moven'ient against the `drag ofzthe rotating magnet so as to register the speed of the moving body at the time the jaws are brought into engagement with the dial. To

restore the dial Vto the action of the magnet.

the'fstud 116 is given a quarter turn which causes the cam to spread the jaws so as to release the dial.v

Any suitable and well known means may be employed for connecting the hand-*staff 10 with the moving body. In Fig. 4L such actuating vmeans for the hand-staff is indicated which, as shown, comprises sleeve that Y is mounted upon a shaft 122, the sleeve being connected to rotate with the shaft and'being movable longitudinally of the shaft. This shaft 122 is adapted to be connected so as to ca use the sleeve to be rotated in accord ance with the speed of the moving body, and the sleeve is adapted to be connected with a centrifugal governor or other suitable means to cause it to be shifted longitudinally on its shaft 122 varying distances in `accordance with the speed of rotation thereof. T he sleeveis provided with a .series of circular rack teeth 124 which engage a pinion 120 secured on the lower end of a shaft 128, the upper end of the shaft being connected to gears and 132 with thehand-staff 10, the gears being secured on the shaft 12S; and

hand-stati?, respectively. lith such a construction it will be apparent the sleeve will act throughits connection with the handstaii to turn said statt in accordance With the speed et rotation thereof, and hence in accordance with the speed of the moving body.

Except as defined in the claims, my invention is not limited to use in any particular type ot speedometer, as it may be used in various types ot speed indicating devices in additionA to the two illustrated in the drawings.

,ldlhat I'claim is: Y

l. A speedometer having, in combination, a speed indicating member, actuating means therefor, and manually controllable means for holding said member` from movement ineither direction during the continued operation of said actuating means at a higher or lower speed.

a speed indicating member, actuating means for moving' said member in opposite directions in accordance with variations in the speed of operation of said actuating means, and manually controllable means for rendering said actuating means ineffective to move said member and for holding said member in a tixed position during the continued operation of said actuating'means.

4i'. A speedometer having, in` combination, a speed indicating` member, actuating means therefor including a yielding connection therewith adapted to move said member in either direction, and manuallycontrollable means Jfor holding said member from movenient in either direction by saidyielding connections. Y

A speedometer naving, in combination, an indicating hand, a hand stati?, suitable connections betweensaid hand and stati tor moving said hand upon movement of said stai'il, and manually controllable means for rendering said connections inoperative to move said hand in either direction and l'or holding saidhand in tixed position.

(l. it speedometer having, in combination, an indicating hand, a hand stati`a yielding connection between said hand andsta't for arising said hand to move with said statt in either direction, and a .manually controllable device for holding said hand from .movement in either direction during the continued movement of said stati.

7. A speedometer having, in combination, an indicating member, an indicating member stat, said member and stati having cooperative stops associated therewith, respc tively, for moving said member when said stati' is turned in one direction, and a second set of cooperating stops associated therewith, respectively, for moving said member when said. stati is turned in the opposite direction, and springs associated with saidr the movement of lsaid stati), and manually controllable means for thus holding said hand from movement.

9. Aspeedometer having, in combination, Y

an indicating hand, a hand stati', a hub on which the hand is secured mounted tor rotation abou-t'said stati, and connections between lsaid statt and hub constructed and arranged so as to cause said hand to be turned in opposite directions upon turning said staff in opposite directions, respectively, and to enable said hand to be held trom movement in 'either direction during the movement of said stati, and manually controllable means for thus holding said hand from movement comprising a .member adapted to be brought into and out of holding engagement with said hub.

10. A speedometer having, in combination, an indicating member, an indicating member stati?, said member and statt having cooperating stops associated therewith, respectively, for moving said member when said statt is turned in one direction, and a second set of cooperating stops associated therewith, respectively, for moving said member when said staff is turned in Vthe opposite direction, and springs associated with said two sets of stops, respectively, tending to hold said stops in engagement and manually controllable means for holding said indicating member 'from movement when desired, said stops, 'springs and member being removable asa -iinit "trom said stati',

l1. speedometer haring, in combination,` a casing,a speed indicating member, actuating means therefor, and means ope"- able by the operator r'rom the outside ot' the casing for holding said member 'trom movement in either direction during the continued operation oit Asaid actuating means at varying speeds.

CHARLES Vil- SVENSON. 

